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Allston college bar closes again, maybe for reals this time

Boston Restaurant Talk reports Joshua Tree on Comm. Ave. has shut down, apparently for good this time, rather than for a makeover before being turned back into Joshua Tree. It could even be turned into a Trader Joe's or some sort of non-Shaw's for the burgeoning LEED-certified crowd moving into the area.

I haven't seen this posted anywhere (Adam, want a scoop?) but Scozzi in Kenmore Sq is closed with a sign saying it was shut by the Boston License Board.

Anyone have a lead on what happened? Is booze, health, or other violation related? I found the place to be OK at best -- the wait times were unacceptably long and the server staff seemed like they were kidnaped on their way to Landsdown St and have been forced to work in the place ever since.

They had a hearing in March for allegedly selling liquor to minors and not checking IDs. Assuming that's it, ten months seems like a long time between a hearing and a punishment, but maybe they appealed whatever the board ruled to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission.

Unless a bar has a long record of such things, the board typically goes with a license suspension of just a day or two.

It's on Newbury Street in Back Bay, not Kenmore Square. It's owned by the hair salon people next door, and for some reason has always attracted the rich international crowd of BU students, the kind of kids who wear hideous $500 Gucci sneakers. The pizza's not bad.

There's one opening up on Boylston where Anthropologie used to be. They were giving away free coffee and cookies outside of the yet to be opened location a few weeks ago. However, you had to agree to be on camera to receive the coffee and snack.

Good riddance. Although, this might mean that the douchebags overflow into some other bar. Or maybe, with luck, they'll go somewhere else entirely.

Anyway, I think a grocery store would be a great use of that location, a densely populated corner of the city with no nearby grocery access (<3 for Berezka but it's not enough) closer than Packard's Corner. I've heard that the Mt Vernon company has been thinking along those lines too, so maybe that is the origin of the Trader Joe's rumor. Last I heard, the space was considered a bit too small, but they're getting more creative these days.

There is no parking there for anyone at any time, and if you didn't know it was there, you probably wouldn't see it driving by either, as it is kind of set back. It is also 2-3 blocks away from other commercial businesses, so people walking down Harvard might not venture down there for something that is an average or below average product.

There is a trader joes and whole foods with plenty of parking about a mile away, and three pretty decent liqueur stores about 50 yards away.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the location sucks, but maybe your rent is 50% of what you might pay in Coolidge corner or packards corner/ Harvard &comm locations.

Your stereotypical suburbanism is showing. City grocery stores don't need giant parking lots like some crap out in the middle of nowhere (West Roxbury). The clientele comes on foot (I know: phrasing!).

You're talking about one of the most densely populated parts of the city. You don't need a parking lot for a shop to thrive. Trust me. There's a lot of people living in the vicinity who would love to have a grocery store there. I know some of them.

That whole foods is a tough 10 minute walk with groceries. Corey Hill + groceries doesn't do well for those of us living on the Allston side of the border. And if you're walking, you probably appreciate that Trader Joe's is significantly cheaper than Whole Foods.

They put a store at St Mary St which is about 1.5 mi from the Symphony store and 1.9 mi from the Washington St store. Bought out Johnnies to do it, too.

Since you lived there you know that there are several small specialty grocers in the area: Russian, Korean, Brazilian, Japanese. They seem to do alright without massive parking lots, although they don't have the selection of produce that I think many people want. One of the newer convenience stores started offering some produce, actually, for those that dare. I have some friends who live near Harvard and Comm and walk to Trader Joe's in Coolidge Corner currently, instead.

You do realize that there are tons of people living near Harvard and Comm? And up along past Griggs St. In Boston. Many of them are seniors. Most of them don't have cars. And Mt Vernon company just built another 500+ (more going up) apartments in the last couple years around the corner from Joshua Tree. I personally know several people who live there and would benefit greatly from having a better grocery store in the vicinity. But you think none of that matters because they're not fancy Brookline residents?

I don't have the numbers but I do know that Perceley has been talking about wanting to put a grocery store in there, in public community meetings over at least the past couple of years. He put the money down to buy it. Presumably he would not have done that if it didn't add up.

But the the grocery store business uses a lot of factors when they build a store, and I don't think that location will survive competing with trader joes, whole foods, and a shaws near by. And I don't think any of the above will put another store at that location. What you will see is a grocery store that will need to keep prices low enough to draw them away from the potentially cheaper places listed above. That might not cut it if you want high quality groceries at that location. That's just my opinion.

A Trader Joe's right on the B line would be more convenient than Coolidge Corner to those who live on that line and don't have a car. It's not always easy walking with grocery bags. Plus it's cheaper than Shaw's.